CEA staff member attends meeting in Hamburg

Ms Karen Roux, Project Co-ordinator of the Centre for Evaluation and Assessment (CEA) attend the 9^th National Research Coordinator (NRC) meeting of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2016 held at the Steigenberger Hotel in Hamburg, Germany from 12 to 13 February 2018.

During this meeting the participants received hands-on International Database training in order to merge datasets, conduct data analysis and to generate outputs for dissemination. Falk Brese, IEA Research Analyst conducted the training in the use of the IEA IDB Analyzer, while the Head of Research, Analysis and Sampling Unit at the IEA in Hamburg, Sabine Meinck delivered a presentation on testing for statistical significance. In addition to the data analysis training, participants also concluded the PIRLS 2016 study and the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) commended the participants for a successful release. The South African PIRLS Literacy 2016 study revealed that nearly 8 out of 10 Grade 4 learners cannot read for comprehension compared to 4 in 100 internationally. The South African PIRLS 2016 and PIRLS Literacy 2016 country reports are available on the CEA website.

Mrs Roux, who is currently busy with her PhD in Assessment and Quality Assurance, focusing on the validity of PIRLS instruments in South Africa, also attended the 1^st NRC meeting of the PIRLS 2021 project held at Hamburg from 14-16 February 2018. This meeting focussed on the reviewing of informational and literary passages as well as contextual questionnaires. The reading assessment framework was also reviewed to ensure that it reflects current trends in reading literacy. Other countries that attend the meetings include United States of America, Canada, Norway, United Arab Emirates, Chile, Chinese Taipei and Morocco.